Merry (Acapella Toto) Christmas!

Here's a little cheesy camp for ya on Christmas. I know that I already posted acapella Toto here, but this one is especially appropriate...

The Voice of Keith Richards

With his new impossibly detailed autobiography flying off the shelves over the past month, Keith Richards has been on the top of our collective minds more than ever lately. Having read some of the book (or rather, listened to the audiobook narrated by Johnny Depp), I've found the candor with which Richards describes the depravity of his addict years with The Stones surprising, to say the least. He comes across as totally honest with himself when it comes to his mistakes and shortcomings, and this makes for a read that is endearing and thoroughly enjoyable.

Having learned about some of Keith's more sordid tales straight from the horse's mouth, I was inclines to look back at some lesser-known Stones tracks where Keith takes lead vocals. Typically, this usually happened once or twice an album, and the tracks were often overlooked as filler, serving as a breather in between Sir Mick's ballyhooing rockers. But while much of the Stones' output in the 80's and 90's sounds overly-slick and dated, Keith's tunes from that period really stand the test of time, and are consistent to an incredible degree when put together in a row. Especially in the later years, Keith was knocking off deeply affecting ballads of regret and humility, delivered in his signature off-hand, soulful tenor. The brutal honesty of his writing seems to come from the same place as the bracing truths in his songwriting.

So I made a Keith mix (surprise, surprise). Of particular note are "Too Rude," Keith's surprisingly successful stab at reggae from 1986's Dirty Work, and "How Can I Stop," a well-produced slow-burner from 1998's Bridges to Babylon that features jazz legend Wayne Shorter on a gorgeous outro sax solo. The rest of the tunes range from classic rockers to haunting laments, and they all come together to paint a picture of Keith Richards as one soulful, troubled dude in his own right. Play this on a rainy day, and let Kieth's blues drift you away...

The Rolling Stones, Starring Keith Richards - How Can I Stop

1. Infamy
2. Before They Make Me Run
3. Connection (Live)
4. Too Rude
5. All About You
6. Thief in the Night
7. Coming Down Again
8. Little T&A
9. Sleep Tonight
10. How Can I Stop
11. You Got The Silver (Live)
12. The Worst
13. Thru And Thru
14. This Place Is Empty
15. Losing My Touch

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Pic of the Day: Happy Thanksgiving!

George: Hullo, Bob. I dig love.
Bob: Greetings and salutations, George. I also believe dat what we need is love, to guide and protect us all.
George: Well that's something we can agree on, brutha.
Bob: United we are in de fight against repression, George.
George: Yes, Bob. Isn't it a pity, how we cause each other pain.
Bob: Fuck it, let's get together and feel alright. One Love.
George: Yes, it's true. All you need is love.

Look at this epic meeting of two cultural giants. Looks like around 1975 or so. Combined, the amount of Love and Happiness these guys inspired in people with their music is just staggering. Brothers in the cause. Monumental.

Treasure Island Music Festival Reivew - Jambase.com

Last weekend saw SF's Treasure Island get bombarded with ravers and hipsters for the 4th annual music festival, this year split into two seperate days of electro madness and indie songcraft. Though the weather sucked, bombarding us with wind and rain, we danced through it all and had a blast. My full coverage of both days is over at Jambase:

Treasure Island Festival :: 10.16.10-10.17.10 :: Treasure Island :: San Francisco, CA

Without a doubt, the highlight of the weekend was LCD Soundsystem's epic slow-burn rager on Sat. night. We were eating out of their hands like farm animals. The band's patience in building the show's energy up and out was excruciatingly awesome. This shaky video captures some of the magic that went down:



The other mind-blowing event of the weekend was the bizarre South African rap group Die Antwoord, which melted my face with pure, masterful rap prowess. This was some next level shit, straight up:

Tom Tom Club Review - Glide Magazine

The rhythm section of the band once known as Talking Heads has been touring for years as Tom Tom Club, a quirky band with a sound rooted in light funk, Caribbean music. The most distinctive element of the band has to be the sing-song, half-rapped, often nonsense lyrics of bassist Tina Weymouth, who sounds like a Japanese schoolgirl more often than not.

Their live show was a dancey affair, with lots of blondes and legs and bouncing basswork. Though the music was nothing mindblowingly profound, it was an easily digestible bit of lighthearted fun, and a great party taboot.

Here's my review of the show over at glidemagazine.com:

Tom Tom Club :: 10.08.10 :: Great American Music Hall :: San Francisco, CA

I've always had a big crush on Tina Weymouth and her sexy bass-rocking swagger. These videos attest the fact that I am still attracted to a 59 year old woman. Laugh if you like, I proudly stand by my statement...

Alberta Cross Review - Glide Magazine

The next generation of rock bands is here, and like non-pasteurized milk, the creamiest of the creamy good music is bound to rise to the top of the mish-mash of mediocrity flooding the scene these days.

Few freshman bands show more potential and promise than Alberta Cross, a British/American hybrid of a rock band which recalls early My Morning Jacket in the best way possible. Releasing their debut album Broken Side of Time in '09, these guys pack a punch both live and on wax, and you can feel that they are going to just get better and better as time goes on.

Sharing a bill with grungy space-sludgers Dead Confederate, Alberta Cross proved their staying power with an affecting show last week in SF. Here is my coverage of these up-and-coming rockers:

Alberta Cross :: 09.08.10 :: Great American Music Hall :: San Francisco, CA

The most rockingest, best crafted track has to be their title cut, the spooky "Broken Side of Time":



But when it comes to calling forth the spirits of creep, "Ghost of City Life" takes the cake as their most powerful, chilling tune:

DEVO Was Right - Dirty Impound

Starting a new trend, this is the first article in a series to celebrate a number of underrated, classic albums that deserve a closer look (featured on the rock website dirtyimpound.com).

Aside from their hit "Whip It," DEVO has always been sort of a cult band, as their weirdo, pin-head on-stage persona and tounge-in-cheek lyrics are quite bizarre and jarring. They truly broke the mold of rock/punk/new wave music with their first album, which rocked harder than their later albums, which leaned more towards programmed synthy electronic sounds. Bottom line, one of the finest debuts in the history of rock and roll. Here is the article:

Q: Are We Not Men? A: We are Devo! - Vintage Stash

Outside Lands Review - Jambase.com

This past weekend saw Golden Gate Park be overtaken by around 50-60,000 music fans, 65 bands and 4 stages, over the course of two days. The result was a huge party in the park amongst the eucalyptus. Check out my review of the madness over at Jambase:

Outside Lands :: 08.14.10-08.15.10 :: Golden Gate Park :: San Francisco, CA